2006 Annual Police Report During 2006, there was an increase in reported crimes to the Montpelier Police Department. For example, Burglary rose by 37%, Larceny was up by 5%, and Assaults were up by 9%. There was a slight increase in reported Rapes. There was at least one bright spot in that the amount of reported Vandalism decreased by about 10%. There were increases in other areas such as DUI (130%), Bad Checks and other types of Fraud (15%), Assault (36%), and Disorderly Conduct (31%) to name a few. Public Intoxication, while not a crime, occupies a great deal of police resources and there was a 25% increase in that activity as well. It would generally follow that along with the above-mentioned increases the law enforcement agency should direct its efforts toward identifying those responsible and place them in the criminal justice system. During 2006 there were at least 398 persons arrested for 521 offenses. This is the highest number of persons and offenses since the year 2000. That year was the beginning of the heroin activity in the region. The numbers represent a 65% increase from 2005. The Montpelier Police Department, along with all the police agencies in the United States, has been reporting crime using NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System). We send our information to Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC) and they in turn send it on to the FBI. VCIC has developed an excellent web based report that is available for access by the community. (http://www.dps.state.vt.us/cjs/crime_05/) The information is often six months delayed but still can be useful in learning about crime and its affect on the community. As we continue to refine our collection and reporting efforts, we believe that the information is generally accurate. The reliability of the data will increase due to data verification protocols. In the past, we have noted that the arrest information appeared to be incorrect. We believe that this has been corrected. By way of explanation, our records management system (computerized) creates all the links based on what is considered an “A” or “B” offense. The only arrest data collected in NIBRS is for “B” offenses.
Other measures of officers activity can be found in the number of accidents that officers respond to. During 2006, there were 512 reports of accidents. For reporting purposes, we noted 240 accidents involving 437 vehicles with 25 injuries, 10 of which were pedestrians. There were no fatalities. These numbers were slightly higher than 2005. The number of pedestrian accidents is alarming and may call for increased efforts on the part of the department and the community to reduce this statistic. Similar measures can be found in foot patrol, mountain bike patrol, and motor vehicle enforcement activity. During the past two years, the number of hours available for this activity has decreased. In addition, the amount of time for motor vehicle work has also decreased. We believe that there are a large number of lost opportunities to interact with the community at large, which only reinforces the positives that derive from this form of community policing. Given the increases in activity, crime, and needed criminal investigations, along with a smaller force, it is difficult to engage in this manner. Montpelier is not unlike the majority of communities and law enforcement agencies in Vermont with regard to staffing. This is not a problem that is unique to Vermont as it a national problem as well. To compound the problem somewhat, there are two opportunities per year to place a recruit into the police academy. Once that recruit is in the academy, January and September, there will be a total of 24 or more weeks before that officer can be expected to function independently. Should an officer leave employment in February, then it would be January of the following year before a replacement is ready. The current fiscal year (FY 2007) will bear witness to a significant change in the staffing of the police department. Three officers have left, one in pursuit of education, another for a career change in law enforcement and the third retired after 26 years of service. One Sergeant has retired after 31 years of service. It is fully expected that two additional officers, representing more than 60 years of service, will be retiring before June 30, 2007. The Department has responded to this significant change by devoting a large amount of time to recruitment and selection of qualified persons. In addition, there is a significant challenge to select and train replacement command officers to maintain the critical management needs of the agency. Replacing a combined 100 plus years of experience is not a small task. With the assignment of one officer to the schools as the School Resource Officer, and the reduction of one officer in a previous budget cycle, there is funding for 15 uniformed officers, including the chief and sergeants. In a previous budget cycle, the funding for a regular officer with an eye to place an investigator on duty was lost. Officers must complete their own investigations. With one less officer, follow up and investigative time will replace time previously spent in preventative activity. A decision may very well need to be made to reduce the number of uniformed patrol officers even further by assigning one of those officers to investigative duties. It was previously noted, that the amount of crime is up and the need to respond to those crimes and subsequent investigations takes too many officers away from other duties. There was a brief period of time that officers were out of the academy and staffing was nearly full. Response to quality of life issues raised by citizens resulted in an increase in motor vehicle stops and subsequent citations. Last but certainly not least, is the dedicated work that if preformed on a daily basis by the dispatchers. During the year 2006, they managed approximately 24,000 calls for service. This includes all of the fire, EMS and police related calls for the community as well as those in the surrounding community. A recent review by the ISO inspectors noted that the communication function was not meeting the appropriate standards. This results in a slight increase in insurance rates for commercial property. Perhaps more importantly is the amount of increased stress on this employee group. As an organization, we need to review the current workload and determine if it is fair and appropriate to ensure a high level of delivery for our emergency services. Our goal during the next year is to meet our mission statement. The achievements of the past year have been many despite the reduction in staff and the response from community members has been heartening as we work together to deal with the complicated issues of the day. The third year involvement with the Capital Community Justice Center is a continuing opportunity for the department to look to alternative methods to deal with crime and other social issues that will eventually improve the quality of life in the community. We look forward to the challenges that 2007 and 2008 will bring us. 2006 Annual Parking Fund Report Conversion to Electronic Meters Continues - Parking Fund Will Develop Fund Balance And Not Rely On General Fund
With the changes approved by the City Council during the previous budget cycle, the Parking Division has implemented the rate changes that should result in a surplus in FY 07 in the area of $60,000. Also during this fiscal year, the Parking Division has been replacing the mechanical meters with electronic meters. The new meters will feature the ability to use a “cash key”. This device is essentially a debit key that can be pre-loaded and used at any of the cash key enabled meters as well as three vending machines. This will provide the customer with a reduced burden of carrying coins. It is anticipated that prior to the end of fiscal year 2007 there will be an opportunity to accelerate the installation of the electronic meters. One of the other benefits of the electronic meters is the near elimination of maintaining the various parts needed for electronic meters. During the preparation of this budget, it appeared that progress was being made to reopen the Taylor Street Lot in time for the arrival of the winter season and the Vermont Legislature. At the time, this information was being prepared there were still some issues that needed to be resolved. The loss of 110 or more spaces is a big loss and underscores the need for continued work on moving forward with the multi-modal traffic center. During the next fiscal year, the Parking Division will be working on upgrades to the software that manages the tickets and subsequent billing. It is hoped that a transition to a customer based billing versus the vehicle based billing will improve communication and accountability. We will also be looking at an on-line payment process that is intended to reduce the amount of paper processing by staff but also take some of the sting out of paying a ticket. There is the potential for many changes in the area of parking in Montpelier with the different initiatives in the works for a multi-modal center and replacement parking. The Parking Division will endeavor to assist and support those initiatives where it is needed. Douglas S. Hoyt Former Chief of Police Parking Division Mission Statement
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Page updated December 29, 2007 |
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